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AstraZeneca Survey: Healthcare professionals leading source of information On company's prescription savings programs

More than a third of the people who contacted AstraZeneca to inquire about the company's prescription savings programs learned of the programs from their doctors or pharmacists, according to a year-long survey of more than 12,000 patients.

23 Jul 2008

Tennessean examines physicians in state limiting new Medicare beneficiaries they see, charging concierge fees

The Tennessean in a two-part series examined how physicians in the state are limiting the number of new Medicare beneficiaries they will treat and how some are charging concierge fees to accept new beneficiaries.

23 Jul 2008

Widespread adoption of e-prescribing could save U.S. $156 million over five years

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt on Monday discussed the details of an electronic prescribing incentive program scheduled to begin on Jan. 1, 2009, that will increase Medicare payments to physicians who adopt the technology, the AP/Chicago Tribune reports.

23 Jul 2008

Disease prevention programs cannot reduce costs in long term, columnist writes

The "formulation" that disease prevention programs can reduce health care costs in the long term "is a pleasant fantasy," syndicated columnist Froma Harrop writes in the Providence Journal.

23 Jul 2008

CMS proposal would limit industry practice that raises costs for some Medicare drug plan beneficiaries

A CMS proposal under consideration would limit a practice used by pharmacy benefit managers known as "lock-in pricing" that can increase costs for beneficiaries enrolled in the Medicare drug benefit and bring them into the so-called "doughnut hole" coverage gap more quickly, the Wall Street Journal reports.

23 Jul 2008

Blitz on hospital waiting lists pays off

Since a boost of $600 million to both federal and state governments earlier this year, almost 14,000 additional patients have received elective surgery in the first six months of the Rudd government's blitz on lengthy public hospital waiting lists.

23 Jul 2008

Rising fuel prices affecting some health care workers

Rising fuel prices are causing financial strain for some home health care workers and the industry is considering replacing some services in rural areas with remote monitoring systems, the AP/Chicago Tribune reports.

22 Jul 2008

Means testing in Medicare, other entitlement programs could help address financial problems

The U.S. faces a "financial crisis," in part because of spending on entitlement programs, and the "situation will become much worse as Americans age and health care costs rise," Tyler Cowen, a professor of economics at George Mason University, writes in a New York Times opinion piece.

22 Jul 2008

Rural doctors say people in the bush can expect to die younger

The Australian Rural Doctors' Association (RDAA) says because of the shortage of doctors in rural and remote Australia people in the bush die sooner.

21 Jul 2008

Colorectal cancer screening rates still too low

Although colorectal cancer screening tests are proven to reduce colorectal cancer mortality, only about half of U.S. men and women 50 and older receive the recommended tests, according to a report in the July 2008 issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

14 Jul 2008

Older patients more satisfied with care when accompanied to medical visits

A study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that 38 percent of Medicare beneficiaries are accompanied to routine medical visits.

14 Jul 2008

UnitedHealth Group announces lower profit outlook

UnitedHealth Group on Wednesday lowered its earnings guidance because of reduced commercial businesses and higher-than-expected Medicare-related costs and said it would restructure the company with a greater focus on regional coverage, the Chicago Tribune reports (Chicago Tribune, 7/3).

4 Jul 2008

Back log of 900 whistle-blower lawsuits at Department of Justice

Whistle-blower lawsuits alleging that pharmaceutical companies and government contractors defrauded the federal government have created a backlog of more than 900 cases at the Department of Justice, the Washington Post reports. According to the Post, more than 500 of the cases involve the health care and pharmaceutical industries, as well as Medicare and Medicaid.

3 Jul 2008

USA Today examines financial strain on retirees with fixed incomes as health care costs, other essentials rise

USA Today on Tuesday, in the first article of a series about retirement issues in the 21st century, examined how retirees are seeing "inflation wring much of the value out of their fixed incomes."

3 Jul 2008

CMS rule requires hospice providers to track, improve quality of care delivered

CMS has issued a new rule requiring hospice providers participating in Medicare to implement a quality assessment and improvement system, the Washington Post reports.

2 Jul 2008

Democratic lawmakers call Bush administration's efforts to temporarily hold Medicare physician payment rates at current levels 'misleading'

Democratic Sens. Jay Rockefeller (W.Va.) and Charles Schumer (N.Y.) in a letter to HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt wrote that there "have been several misleading -- and possibly incorrect -- reports from the [Bush] administration regarding actions on physician claims filed beginning July 1," The Hill reports (Young, The Hill, 6/30).

2 Jul 2008

Bush Administration to temporarily keep Medicare physician payment rates at current levels after congress fails to pass legislation to delay scheduled cut

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt on Friday said that the agency will maintain the current Medicare payment rate for physicians because Congress was unable to pass legislation to avert a 10.6% cut scheduled to go into effect on Tuesday before lawmakers left for the Fourth of July recess, the Washington Post reports. According to the Post, congressional aides said the freeze to payment rates could last 10 days (Kane, Washington Post, 6/28).

2 Jul 2008

Old order Amish, Mennonites reject health insurance, face high costs for care at not-for-profit hospitals

Old Order Amish and Mennonites in Lancaster County, Pa., "suffer from endemic proportions of certain deadly genetic diseases" because they do not marry outside their communities, and, as they "seek lifesaving treatments, the uninsured in these Pennsylvania communities are struggling with escalating costs of care" at not-for-profit hospitals, the Wall Street Journal reports.

2 Jul 2008

Federal Judge rejects request for injunction against Medicare competitive bidding program for durable medical equipment, editorial says

U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia Ricardo Urbina on Monday rejected a request for a preliminary injunction against a Medicare competitive bidding program for durable medical equipment, CongressDaily reports (Edney, CongressDaily, 6/30).

2 Jul 2008

New Australian health programmes provide health checks for children and teen dental care

Three new health programmes for children and teenagers have been announced by the Australian Federal Government which include a $150 voucher for teenage dental care, free health checks for children starting school and a guide to kids' health for parents.

2 Jul 2008

Medicare News and Research

AstraZeneca Survey: Healthcare professionals leading source of information On company's prescription savings programs

Tennessean examines physicians in state limiting new Medicare beneficiaries they see, charging concierge fees

Widespread adoption of e-prescribing could save U.S. $156 million over five years

Disease prevention programs cannot reduce costs in long term, columnist writes

CMS proposal would limit industry practice that raises costs for some Medicare drug plan beneficiaries

Blitz on hospital waiting lists pays off

Rising fuel prices affecting some health care workers

Means testing in Medicare, other entitlement programs could help address financial problems

Rural doctors say people in the bush can expect to die younger

Colorectal cancer screening rates still too low

Older patients more satisfied with care when accompanied to medical visits

UnitedHealth Group announces lower profit outlook

Back log of 900 whistle-blower lawsuits at Department of Justice

USA Today examines financial strain on retirees with fixed incomes as health care costs, other essentials rise

CMS rule requires hospice providers to track, improve quality of care delivered

Democratic lawmakers call Bush administration's efforts to temporarily hold Medicare physician payment rates at current levels 'misleading'

Bush Administration to temporarily keep Medicare physician payment rates at current levels after congress fails to pass legislation to delay scheduled cut

Old order Amish, Mennonites reject health insurance, face high costs for care at not-for-profit hospitals

Federal Judge rejects request for injunction against Medicare competitive bidding program for durable medical equipment, editorial says

New Australian health programmes provide health checks for children and teen dental care

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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